As a conservatory, UNCSA focuses on preparing students for careers as performing artists. The UNCSA string department offers students an extraordinary degree of personal attention and mentoring from faculty with active professional careers. String students are under the direct supervision of artist-faculty members Sheila Browne, viola; Ida Bieler, violin; Kevin Lawrence, violin; Janet Orenstein, violin; Brooks Whitehouse, cello; Paul Sharpe, double bass; and Jacquelyn Bartlett, harp.

From these dedicated teachers, students learn to analyze technical and musical questions, leading to command of their instrument, mastery of all areas of musicianship, and success in performing before an audience. Chamber music and larger ensemble playing, assigned by juried auditions, broadens the scope of instrumental study and provides the comprehensive performance experience needed by a string player to prepare for a place on the contemporary concert stage.

Students in the Bachelor of Music program are required to perform a recital program in their senior year. Students working toward the Master of Music are required to play a recital each year of the two-year program.

The repertoire listed below by instrument gives an indication of the range and difficulty of works typically studied by string students in the various UNCSA degree programs.

Orchestral Repertoire
All major orchestral audition repertoire is covered over a two-year cycle in the double bass Symphonic Repertoire class. The class consists of a minimum of four yearly mock auditions which are recorded and the performances are analyzed carefully in the following class.

Harp

Contact artist-faculty member Jacquelyn Bartlett for information on the Bachelor of Music and High School Diploma programs in harp.